Farming for Beneficial Insects - Conservation on Native Pollinators, Predators & Parasitoids; Gardening Guidebook for South Carolina www.scribd.com/doc/239851313 ~ Xerces Society, For more information, Please see Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children www.scribd.com/doc/239851214 - Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech www.scribd.com/doc/239851079 - Free School Gardening Art Posters www.scribd.com/doc/239851159 - Increase Food Production with Companion Planting in your School Garden www.scribd.com/doc/239851159 - Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success www.scribd.com/doc/239851348 - City Chickens for your Organic School Garden www.scribd.com/doc/239850440 - Huerto Ecológico, Tecnologías Sostenibles, Agricultura Organica www.scribd.com/doc/239850233 - Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools, Teacher Guide www.scribd.com/doc/23985111 ~
How to do quick user assign in kanban in Odoo 17 ERP
Farming for Beneficial Insects - Conservation on Native Pollinators, Predators & Parasitoids; Gardening Guidebook for South Carolina
1. Farming for Beneficial Insects:
Conservation of Native Pollinators, Predators, and Parasitoids
Lacewing photo: Richard Greene
Presented by Nancy Lee Adamson
Pollinator Conservation Specialist
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation &
NRCS East National Technology Support Center
Moderated by Sudie Daves Thomas
Wildlife Biologist, South Carolina NRCS
Photo: YoungDoo M. Carey
Photo: Sue Griggs
2. What is the Xerces Society?
Photos: California NRCS and Ed Ross
Since 1971, the Society has worked to protect
wildlife through the conservation of
invertebrates and their habitat.
Xerces blue butterfly
(Glaucopsyche xerces),
the first U.S. butterfly to
go extinct due to human
activities.
3. Endangered species
Photos: Joel Sartore, Matthew Shepherd, Carly Voight, David Funk
Pollinator conservation
Butterfly conservationAquatic conservation
What is the Xerces Society?
4. Photo: Nancy Adamson
2008 (& 2013) Farm Bill Pollinator Habitat Provisions
• Pollinators a priority for all USDA land managers & conservationists
• Encouraging inclusion of pollinators in all USDA conservation
programs--adding diversity to plant mixes & promoting IPM
5. Closer look at NRCS programs supporting pollinators
Recent webinar available at ConservationWebinars.net in "FOTG & Planning"
outlining current USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service pollinator programs
Several other pollinator webinars, including Common Bees & Best Bee Plants of the
East, in "Insects & Pollinators" and "Fish & Wildlife"
6. Photo: Nancy Adamson
Pollinator habitat & IPM support other beneficial insects
Predators &
parasitoids use the
same habitat as
bees
mason/potter wasp and
sweat bee on goldenrod
7. Farming for Beneficial Insects Talk Outline
Photo: Nancy Adamson
leafhopper assassin bug nymph
on daylily
Benefits of diversity
• Sustainable agriculture
Beneficial arthropods &
nematodes
• Natural enemies of pests
– Predators & parasitoids
• Pollinators
Habitat needs
• Food & shelter
• Protection from pesticides
Establishment & long
term management tips
Additional resources
8. Photo: Matthew Shepherd, Xerces Society
Biological (Sustainable) Farming: Benefits of Diversity
Greater plant diversity
•Increased forage
•Less herbicide use
•Greater insect diversity
Lower pesticide use
•More beneficial insects
•Better crop pollination
•Fewer pest outbreaks on
diversified farms
Nesting & refuge from
harvest & pesticides
• Patchwork habitat
• Patchwork disturbance
9. USDA Organic certification
requires farms to enhance
biodiversity
National Organic Program Biodiversity Rule
Photo: Nancy Adamson
“A production system that is managed…by integrating cultural, biological, &
mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological
balance, and conserve biodiversity” (Organic Food Production Act, 1990)
10. Knowing the farmers, supporting local production, reduced pesticide
use, and agri-tourism increasingly valued
Beyond Organic: Local & Reduced Pesticides
/
11. • Agri-tourism is a growing part of “go-local” efforts
• Beneficial insect field borders & hedgerows add
– “curb appeal”
– income with cut flowers or berries
Local Food, Agri-tourism & Added Income
/
Photo: Glenn Carson
Pollinator planting at vineyard in Cherokee County, NC, with
technical support provided by Glenn Carson, NC NRCS
12. Photo: Nancy Adamson
Other Benefits of Beneficial Insect Plantings
• Protect watersheds
• Provide wildlife habitat--especially species
needing open, early-successional habitat
Plantings around sinkholes, with technical
support provided by Robin Mayberry, NRCS
Area Biologist in Cookville, TN
13. Insects Sustain Our Ecosystems
Contribute $22 billion
to recreation industry
as food for wildlife
Native pollinators
contribute at least $3
billion in pollination
Wild natural enemies protect
more than $4.5 billion in crop
production in the U.S.
Clean up grazing lands, saving
ranchers more than $380
million & help retain nutrients
Losey & Vaughan. 2006. The Economic Value of Ecological
Services Provided by Insects. Bioscience 56 (4). Photos: VADGIF, Piotr Naskrecki, Edward Ross, USDA-NRCS
14. “The greatest single factor in preventing insects from overwhelming the
rest of the world is the internecine warfare which they carry out among
themselves.” Robert Metcalf, entomologist & chemical ecologist
Photo: VegEdge, UMN
The Importance of Predators and Parasitoids
tomato hornworm larva
parasitized by braconid wasps
15. Conservation Biological Control,
Conservation Biocontrol, or
Biocontrol
•Beneficial Insects
•Natural Enemies (of pests)
•Biological Control Agents
Using Ecological Principles in Farming
This manual will be
available soon, as well as
a new book from the
Xerces Society & Storey
Publishers.
For up-to-date local info, contact
•Local NRCS & Extension offices
•Visit http://www.eXtension.org
•Find regional Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) center
16. Biological Control ≠ Annihilation
Slow pest population
growth rates
If both predator & prey
are wiped out, it takes
predators much longer
to recover
Photo: Debbie Roos
wheel bug (assassin bug) nymph
eating a Colorado potato beetle
18. Photo: Nancy Adamson
Many predators are generalists, feeding on anything they can catch:
Spiders; some beetles; assassin, damsel, & minute pirate bugs; lacewings…
Predators
lynx spider
with sweat bee
on rosinweed
Reichert, S. E. and T. Lockley. 1984. Spiders and biological control agents. Annual Review of Entomology 29: 299-320.
19. Photo: Scott Bauer, commons.wikimedia.org
braconid wasp parasitizing
a tarnished plant bug nymph
Parasitoids are parasites that kill their hosts & are often
"specialists" (some wasps, flies, nematodes)
Parasitoids
20. Photo: Nancy Adamson
cicada killer (solitary wasp)
providing for her young
Predatory Wasps
Adults are omnivorous & catch prey to provide to their carnivorous
young—she will lay one egg on this cicada after placing it in an underground nest
21. Parasitic/Parasitoid Wasps
Adult parasitic wasps lay eggs on host;
Larvae eat host from the inside out
braconid wasp
parasitizing aphids
Photo: Bruce Marlin www.cirrusimage.com
22. Photo: Nancy Adamson
scoliid wasp sipping
wingstem nectar
Some larger wasps are also parasitoids—scoliid wasps paralyze & lay eggs
on white grubs (ex. June beetle larvae), but as adults consume pollen & nectar
Parasitic/Parasitoid Wasps
23. Photo: Michael Oliver (Wikimedia Commons)
Wasp and fly parasitoids often eat nectar & pollen as adults—their
young may parasitize eggs, larvae, or adults (including crop pests)
tachinid fly, Trichopoda pennipes,
sipping goldenrod nectar
Parasitic/Parasitoid Flies
24. Predatory Flies
Many adult flies feed
on flower pollen
Photo: Nancy Adamson
syrphid fly (bee mimic)
on spiderwort
25. Photo: Mario Ambrosino
Some fly larvae are voracious predators of aphids & other crop pests
Predatory Fly Larvae
syrphid fly larva eating
an aphid (twice its size!)
26. They overwinter in leaf litter or under soil layer--maintain
undisturbed natural areas adjacent to farm land to support them
Photo: Alex Wild
Predatory & Parasitic Flies
hover fly larvae eating an aphid
27. Photo: Nancy Adamson
robber fly
on apple
Some predatory flies mimic bees
Compared with bees,
flies have
•Bigger eyes
•Short antennae
•1 pair of wings
29. Photo: Bruce Marlin www.cirrusimage.com
Overwinter in leaf litter, soil, rotting wood--maintain
undisturbed natural areas adjacent to farm land to support them
ladybird beetle larva
Predatory Beetles
36. Photo: Nancy Adamson
Native Bee Diversity in Agriculture
Diverse native bees pollinating crops:
• 100+ species visit apples in GA, NY and PA
• 100+ species visit blueberry in Michigan
• 100+ species visit WI cranberries
• 80+ species visit berry crops in New England
• 60+ species visit CA tomato, sunflower, or watermelon
andrenid bee
on apple
37. Wild Pollinators: Better Quality Pollination
Photo: Nancy Adamson
Garobaldi, L. A. et al.. 2013. Wild pollinators enhance fruit set of crops regardless of honey bee abundance.
Science 339 (6127) : 1608-1611.
In a study of 41 crops around the globe, fruit set in all crops significantly
increased with flower visits by wild pollinators vs. only 14% with honey bees
digger bee
on apple
38. digger beeshoney bee
Wild Pollinators: Better Quality Pollination
Better quality pollination relates to cross-pollination, the ability to buzz pollinate,
and other ways bees interact with flowers.
Photos: Nancy Adamson
Garibaldi, L. A. et al.. 2013. Wild pollinators enhance fruit set of crops regardless of honey bee abundance.
Science 339 (6127) : 1608-1611.
Wild bees improved fruit set twice as much as honey bees.
39. Photo: Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Produce With Bee Pollinated Crops
A third of our crops depend on insect pollinators—primarily bees
40. Photo: Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Produce Without Bees
Insects matter!
41. Mass bumble bee kill in Oregon,
June 2013
Current State of Pollinator Health
Photo: Dan Gunderson, MN Public Radio
Despite increased awareness since 2006,
some of the highest losses ever in 2013
Graph: vanEngelsdorp et al 2013.
http://beeinformed.org/
Photos: Rich Hatfield (Xerces Society); The Oregonian
42. How can we better support pollinators?
Strengthen habitat and pesticide
protection for all bees—this also
supports other beneficial insects
Photos: Nancy Adamson
43. 3 Groups of Native Bees Based on Nesting Habits
Photos: Elaine Evans, Steve Javorek, Eric Mader
bumble bees (social)ground-nesting bees (solitary)
polyester bee,
Colletes inaequlis
Bombus impatiens
orchard mason bee,
Osmia lignaria
cavity/tunnel-nesting bees (solitary)
44. Bumble Bees, Bombus spp.
Photo: Nancy Adamson
Annual colonies, ~25-400 workers, in abandoned rodent burrows or under
lodged grasses—Provide forage, conserve brush piles & unmown areas
Bombus griseocolis
covered in squash pollen
45. Ground-Nesting Solitary Bees
Photos: Jim Cane, Dennis Briggs, Nancy Adamson
mining bee
Andrena barbara
Roughly 70% of bee
species build nests
underground
(though solitary, often
aggregate nests)--
Provide forage, scout for
nests, conserve sandy
soil & bare ground
47. Photos: Matthew Shepherd, Bruce Newhouse
How much habitat is needed?
Beneficial insect diversity and abundance
in crops depends on natural habitat on or
close to the farm
48. Photo: Nancy Adamson
In PA apple pollination study, trees adjacent to natural habitat were
fully pollinated by native bees.
Recommend honey bee hives placed in center areas, farthest from edge habitat.
How much habitat is needed?
mining bee,
Andrena sp.
http://extension.psu.edu/ipm/resources/native-pollinators
49. Photo: Nancy Adamson
Diverse habitat is best
Natural enemy activity and crop pollination by wild bees
is greater in landscapes with diverse habitats
Bianchi, F. J. J. A., C. J. H. Booij, and T. Tscharntke. 2011. Sustainable pest regulation in agricultural landscapes: a
review on landscape composition, biodiversity and natural pest control. Proc. R. Soc. B 273: 1715-1727.
Orr, D. and A. Fox. 2012. Augmentation and conservation of natural enemies, in Integrated Pest Management:
Principles and Practice, edited by D. P. Abrol and U. Shankar. CAB International, Cambridge, MA.
Winfree, R., N. M. Williams, H. Gaines, J. S. Ascher, C. Kremen. 2008. Wild bee pollinators provide the majority of
crop visitation across land-use gradients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, USA. J. Applied Ecology 45(3): 793-802.
great golden digger wasp
on dogbane
50. Flowering cover crops support parasitoids
Nectar sources (buckwheat) in soybean supported increased (2½ times)
parasitization of brown stink bugs (Glynn Tillman, USDA ARS, Crop Protection &
Management Research Lab, Tifton, GA, manuscript in progress)
Telenomus podisi female
parasitizing stink bug eggs
adult brown stink bug
Photo: Russ OttensPhoto: http://zoo.bio.ufpr.br/biocontrol/entomofauna.html
Laboratorio de Controle Integrado de Insetos (LCII)
51. Research conducted by Glynn Tillman, USDA Agricultural Research Service
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/projects/projects.htm?accn_no=420801
Buckwheat cover crop led to stink bug reduction
Means for percent parasitization per egg mass for sentinel
eggs of brown stink bugs in cotton with buckwheat
syrphid fly feeding
on buckwheat
Photo: Nancy Adamson
52. Nectar sources (milkweed) between peanut & cotton supported
increased (5x!) parasitization of southern green stink bugs (Glynn Tillman,
USDA ARS, Crop Protection & Management Research Lab, Tifton, GA, manuscript in progress)
Egg of T. pennipes
on female southern
green stink bug
Trichopoda
feeding on
milkweed
nectar
Photo:
Glynn Tillman
Photo:
Marvin Smith
(Wikimedia Commons)
Photo:
Susan Day
Flowering cover crops support parasitoids
53. Impact of Milkweed Habitat on Parasitization of Southern Green Stink
Bug (SGSB) Adults by Trichopoda pennipes in Cotton
Photo: Nancy Adamson
common
milkweed
(G. Tillman Study, Tifton, GA)
Milkweed near crop led to stink bug reduction
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/projects/projects.htm?accn_no=420801
54. /
Photo: Nikki Siebert
Will providing habitat increase pest pressure?
Natural enemy populations are higher & pest pressure is lower in
complex patchy landscapes with fallow fields, field margins, and/or
wooded habitats (Forehand et al. 2006, Bianchi et al. 2011)
Bianchi, F. J. J. A., C. J. H. Booij, and T. Tscharntke. 2011. Sustainable pest regulation in agricultural landscapes: a review on
landscape composition, biodiversity and natural pest control. Proc. R. Soc. B 273: 1715-1727.
Forehand, L. M., D. B. Orr, and H. M. Linker. 2006. Insect communities associated with beneficial inset habitat plants in North
Carolina. Environmental Entomology 35 (6): 1541-159.
Pollinator planting at Dirt Works Incubator Farm, a project of
Lowcountry Local First at Rosebank Farms near Charleston, SC
55. Photo: Google Maps
How much habitat is needed?
Example map (not the study site)
Area surrounding Open Book Farm
in Myersville, MD
Thies, C., I. Steffan-Dewenter, and T. Tscharntke. 2003. Effects of landscape context on herbivory and parasitism at different
spatial scales. Oikos 101: 18-25.
In a canola pest control study, when non-crop area was <20%,
parasitism dropped below threshhold (32-36%) for successful
biological control. (Thies et al. 2003)
56. Photo: Nancy Adamson
Larger wildflower plantings support greater biological control
without increasing herbivore density (Blaauw & Isaacs 2012)
Bigger is better
Blaauw, B. R. and R. Isaacs. 2012. Larger wildflower plantings increase natural enemy density, diversity, and biological control
of sentinel prey, without increasing herbivore density. Ecological Entomology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2311.2012.01376.x.
Photo: Jennifer Hopwood
57. Photo: Matthew Shepherd
Crop diversity can reduce pest pressure and pesticide use
Providing habitat includes protection from pesticides
58. Pesticides cause significant
damage to beneficial insect
populations
• Use active ingredients with least
impact on bees
• Consider formulation
• Label guidelines only apply to
honey bees
• Don’t spray on plants in bloom
• Spray at night and when dry
Avoid pesticide poisoning
*
When referring to this publication, note
that product label for Beauveria bassiana
warns it is pathogenic to honey bees and
to avoid use near bees.
*
59. Protection from Pesticides: Neonicotinoids
Neonicotinoid Systemic Insecticides
•Increasingly used on crops, ornamental plants, and lawns
•Systemic mode of action (become part of all plant tissue)
•Sprays, soil drenches, granules, seed coatings, chemigation
•Residues in pollen and nectar
•Can persist over time in plants and soil (>3 years)
Photo: Regina Hirsch
http://www.xerces.org/neonicotinoids-and-bees/
60. Neonicotinoid Toxicity to Bees
• Large doses toxic to bees
• Small doses reduce foraging
ability, flight activity, & learning
• Also detrimental to bumble
bees, solitary bees, and other
beneficial insects
• Breakdown chemicals can be
even more dangerous than
original product
Photo: Nancy Adamson
Protection from Pesticides: Neonicotinoids
61. Reducing Harm from Neonicotinoids
• Avoid application before or during bloom
• Avoid repeat annual use in perennial
blooming species (carry over)
• NOTE: Recommended rates on
household products as much 100X
agricultural rates, so lethal
• Stop “cosmetic” (vs. agricultural) use
(http://www.beecityusa.org/)
Photo: Eric Mader
Protection from Pesticides: Neonicotinoids
62. Caution if using organic-approved pesticides
Even organic-approved pesticides
aren’t always safe for bees & other
beneficials.
• Rotenone = Dangerous for Bees!
• Pyrethrins = Dangerous for Bees!
• Spinosad = Dangerous for Bees!
• Beauveria bassiana = Dangerous!
Okay when not directly applied to
bees (i.e. non-blooming crops or at
night):
• Insecticidal soap
• Horticultural oil
• Neem
Photo: NRCS/Toby Alexander
63. Safer pest management
options:
• Bt
• Insect repellents (e.g.
garlic or citrus oils)
• Kaolin clay barriers
(Surround)
• Pheromone traps
• Mating disruptors
Photo: David Biddinger (Penn State University )
Managing Insecticides: Alternative Options
64. Alternatives to pesticides
Insectary plantings
Crop rotation and diversity
Trap crops
Floating row covers
Fruit bagging
Resistant varieties
Sanitation
Photo: NRCS/Toby Alexander
68. Photo: Nancy Adamson
Plants with small flowers like mountain mint support wasps, flies,
and many other beneficial insects
Habitat Needs
spider wasp on
mountain mint
(Pycnanthemum sp.)
69. Habitat through the growing season
Photos: Elaine Haug NRCS, Matthew Shepherd; Mace Vaughan, Eric Mader, Jeff McMillan NRCS, Berry Botanic Garden, Nancy Adamson
maple,
Acer
false indigo,
Baptisia
goldenrod,
Solidago,
Oligoneuron,
Euthamia,
willow,
Salix
mountain mint,
Pycnanthemum
aster
Symphyotrichum,
Eurybia
blazing star,
Liatris
Pollinators, predators, & parasitoids need food (nectar, pollen, or prey)
and refuge when crops are harvested or pesticides used.
70. Insect diversity increases
with plant diversity.
Floral Diversity
Photo: Eric Mader
Carvell, C., W. R. Meek, R. F. Pywell, D. Goulson and M. Nowakowski. 2007. Comparing the efficacy of agri-environment
schemes to enhance bumble bee abundance and diversity on arable field margins. J of Applied Ecology 44: 29-40.
Potts, S. G., B. Vulliamy, A. Dafni, G. Ne’eman, and P. G. Willmer. 2003. Linking bees and flowers: how do floral
communities structure pollinator communities? Ecology 84:2628-2642.
Tscharntke, T. A., A. Gathmann, and I. Steffan-Dewenter. 1998. Bioindication using trap-nesting bees and wasps and their
natural enemies and interactions. J of Applied Ecology 35:708-719.
71. Establishing New Habitat: Keys to Success
Photo: Paul Jepson, OSU IPPC
The 6 Critical Elements of Establishing New Habitat:
1. Remove ALL perennial weeds prior to planting
2. Do not disturb dormant weed seed
3. Make a clean seed bed/planting area
4. Use appropriate planting technology for the site
5. Plant perennial seed in the fall
6. Manage annual and biennial weeds for two years after planting
72. Post Seeding: Mow perennial seeded areas first and second year,
before annual and biennial weeds produce seed
Mow when between 10–12” to 6–8” (as often as needed) to let light
reach new seedlings w/o smothering
Photos: Nancy Adamson
Establishing New Habitat: Post-Planting
73. Long-Term Habitat Management: Limit Disturbance
Mowing, grazing, burning, disking are best
at infrequent intervals
• Disturbance to no more than 1/3 of habitat
area each year
• Time management for when most effective
against target, or during dormant season
• Early successional habitat is ideal; too much
disturbance favors grasses over forbs
Photos: USDA-ARS, Audubon California
74. NRCS Programs Supporting Beneficial Insects
Photo: Nancy Adamson
Watch Conserving Pollinators While Addressing Other Resource
Concerns at ConservationWebinars.net
Sudie Daves Thomas (SC NRCS), Kelly Gilkerson (Clemson University),
and Angel Sams (SC NRCS) at Rosebank Farms near Charleston, SC
75. Farm Bill Implementation: IPM
Integrated Pest Management
(595):
•Protecting pollinators from
pesticides
•Establishing habitat for other
beneficial insects
Visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov
to locate your local District
Conservationist.
Photos: David Biddinger (Penn State University),
Mace Vaughan (Xerces Society), and Elise Fog
77. State and regional Technical Notes
Farming for Pollinators & Pest Management brochures
Agroforestry Notes
PLANTS Database
NRCS Plant Material Centers
USDA-NRCS Resources
80. bumble bee to blazing star
Wildflower-rich habitats support
beneficial insects & other wildlife
Ensure
• diverse forage & nesting sites
• management for insect diversity
Take Home Message
Photo: Nancy Adamson
www.xerces.org
(follow links to pollinator program)
82. Photo: Nancy Adamson
southeastern blueberry bee
on redbud
Plant flowers…
…as native as possible.
Reduce pesticide use.
Farmers, home gardeners, & communities
www.xerces.org
(follow links to
pollinator program)
83. Photo: Nancy Adamson
Thank You All!
andrenid bee on apple
…and many excellent scientists,
conservationists, and farmers
Financial support from
Xerces Society Members
NRCS East National Tech Center
Turner Foundation
Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund
C.S. Fund
Whole Foods Market & their vendors
Organic Valley FAFO
Organic Farming Research Foundation
Nat’l Institute of Food & Agric., USDA
Cinco
Clif Bar Family Foundation
Alice C. Tyler Perpetual Trust
Sarah K. de Coizart Article TENTH
Perpetual Charitable Trust
The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust
EarthShare (CFC #18360)
Endangered Species Chocolate
The Metabolic Studio
The Ceres Foundation
& many others…
84. Thank you, Holli Kuykendall & Sudie Daves Thomas!!
Questions? Contact:
Nancy Lee Adamson, PhD
The Xerces Society &
NRCS East National
Technology Support Center
336-370-3443
nancy@xerces.org
nancy.adamson@gnb.usda.gov
www.xerces.org
Photo: Nancy Adamson
bumble bee
on peach